Brush



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United States Patent 3,545,026 BRUSH Carl C. Beer, Philadelphia, Pa.,assignor to Sherman Car Wash Equipment Co., Palmyra, N.J., a corporationof New Jersey Filed May 9, 1968, Ser. No. 727,964 Int. Cl. A46b 13/02U.S. Cl. 15-483 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A centrifugalforceresponsive brush whereby a plurality of brushes on a common shaftare mounted for pivotable movement between retracted and extendedpositions about axes which are generally parallel to the axis ofrotation. If the brush is too close to the article being cleaned, theforce of the article on the brushes causes them to partially retract. Abrush of this construction can use shorter length bristles andsubstantially reduce bristle wear. The brushes may be latched in a vretracted position.

The present invention relates to brushes of the type mounted forrotation. Brushes of this type are utilized in a variety of environmentssuch as in units designed to wash the exterior of a vehicle. Thebristles on such brushes are generally several feet long. Because of thevarying contour of the vehicle, some portions of the vehicle will besubjected to a greater length of bristle and hence a greater force thanfrom other portions. This wears the brush as well as the vehicleexterior surfaces. The brush of the present invention overcomes thisproblem and reduces bristle wear.

The brush of the present invention is structurally interrelated in amanner so as to have a plurality of brush strips. The brush strips areindividually supported by a rotatable shaft. Each support permits thebrush strips to move between retracted and extended positions. The brushstrips are normally biased in any convenient manner such as by a coilspring to their retracted position. Centrifugal force is relied upon tomove the brush strips to their extended positions. Substantial contactwith the surface to be cleaned causes the brush strips to retractinwardly until an equilibrium position is attained between the effect ofthe centrifugal force and the eifect of contact with the surface to becleaned. As a result, the same surface areas may be cleaned while usingbristles which are substantially shorter in length than those usedheretofore.

In one embodiment, the brush is comprised of two sections. A mechanismis provided to latch the brush support members on one section in aretracted position. The latch is selectively operable. Both sectionswill be operable when washing the sides of vehicles adjacent the door oracross the back of station wagons. When washing the fenders or the frontof the vehicle, only one section is operable.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel rotatablebrush.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a rotatablebrush which supports bristles for movement between retracted andextended positions.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a novelrotatable brush structurally interrelated in a manner whereby theeffective length of the bristles may be substantially reduced Withoutreducing the overall effect of the brush.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a novelrotatable brush which is adapted to have a longer life span.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a novelrotatable brush wherein the bristles may move radially inwardly due toexcessive contact with the surface being cleaned.

It is an object to provide a brush having at least two coaxial sectionseach having bristles mounted for retracted and extended positions whilebeing able to selectively maintain one section in a retracted position.

Other objects will appear hereinafter.

For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there is shown in thedrawings a form which is presently preferred; it being understood,however, that this invention is not limited to the precise arrangementsand instrumentalities shown.

FIG. 1 is a side elevation View of the brush of the present invention inan inoperative position.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line 2-2 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 1 but showing the brushes in theirextended position.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 44 in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a partial perspective view of one brush support.

FIG. 6 is a side view similar to FIG. 3, but illustrating anotherembodiment.

:FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line 7-7 in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a view taken along the line 88 in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a view taken along the line 9-9 in FIG. 8.

Referring to the drawing in detail, wherein like numerals indicate likeelements, there is shown a brush in accordance with the presentinvention designated gen erally as 10.

The brush 10 includes a rotatable shaft 12. Collars 14 and 18 arefixedly secured to the shaft 12 at spaced points. A set screw or othersimilar device may be utilized to couple the collars to the shaft 12 ina manner thereby the collars may be rotated for a purpose to bedescribed hereinafter.

A support plate 16 is fixed to the shaft 12 and supports the collar 14.A similar support plate 20 is fixed to the shaft 12 and supports thecollar 18. As shown, the support plates 16 and 20 are preferably in theform of circular disks and rotate with shaft 12.

A plurality of brush supports designated generally as 22, 24, 26, 28, 30and 32 are pivotably supported by each of the plates 16 and 20. Eachbrush support is identical. Hence, only brush support 32 will bedescribed in detail.

Brush support 32 includes an arm 34 pivotably secured to the lowersurface of plate 16 for rotation about pin 38. A similar arm 36 ispivotably secured to the plate 20 for rotation about pin 40. The arms 34and 36 are interconnected by a vertical strut 42. A brush strip 44 isremovably coupled to the strut 42 by means of screws, bolts or the like.

Brush bristles 46 are attached to form a part of the brush strip 44 inany conventional manner. A variety of constructions are well known inthe art and per se form no part of the present invention. One end of aspring 48 is secured to collar 18. The other end of spring 48 isconnected to a pin on arm 36. Spring 48 biases the brush support 32 to aretracted position shown more clearly in FIG. 2.

In the extended position of the brush support 32 as shown more clearlyin FIG. 4, spring 48 is stretched and the arms 34 and 36 extend radiallyoutwardly with respect to the longitudinal axis of shaft 12. In orderthat the brush support does not move past the center point, pin 40 hasan extension 50 on the end thereof below member 20 which engages a limitstop 52. See FIGS. 3

and 4. Between its extended and retracted positions, the brush supportsrotate through an arc of approximately 100.

The inoperative position of the brush is shown in FIG. 1. When shaft 12is rotated about its longitudinal axis, the brush supports are biased tothe position shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 by centrifugal force until thebristles contact the surface to be cleaned, such as the exterior surfaceof a vehicle in a car washing unit. Contact with the vehicle or othersurface to be washed will have a counteracting force on the brushsupports tending to make them collapse slightly until an equilibriumpoint is reached between the centrifugal force acting on the brush andthe reaction forces due to contact with the vehicle. Equilibrium isdetermined by the centrifugal force and the spring whose force can bevaried. In this manner, undue wear on the bristles as well as thesurface being cleaned will be avoided.

The bristles may be approximately one-half their normal length. Thebristles 46 may be .made from polymeric materials as well as naturalbrush bristles. Since the con tacting force between the bristles andarticle being washed depends upon the position of the article withrespect to the shaft 12, the brush has a substantially lesser tendencyto wrap itself around portions of the vehicle such as the aerial on thevehicle.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms. That is,two or more of the brushes 10 may be mounted on a common shaft. When twoor more brushes 10 are mounted on a common shaft the adjustable featureof the spring bias will permit one brush to have its brush supports intheir fully extended position while the other is in a partially extendedposition. This feature gives the entire unit a contour effect which isdesirable when cleaning things like a vehicle which has a changingcontour.

In FIGS. 6-9, there is illustrated another embodiment of the presentinvention wherein the brush unit is designated generally as 60. Thebrush unit 60 includes a brush designated generally as 62 and a brush 10as described above mounted on a common shaft 64. Shaft 64 is providedwith any convenient drive mechanism such as the chain drive 68. Theshaft 64 is coupled directly to the brush 10. Brushes 10 and 62 aremechanically coupled together by clutch 66.

The brush 62 corresponds identically to the brush 10 described aboveexcept as will be made clear hereinafter. A plate 70 is mounted aboveplate 16'. Plate 16' corresponds to plate 16 described above. Plate 70is slidably received by the bushing surrounding shaft 64. Springs 72bias plate 70 upwardly away from plate .16. A frame member 74 havingwheels 76 at spaced points corresponding generally to the location ofthe springs 72 is provided. Frame member 74 is likewise slidablysupported by the bushing surrounding shaft 64.

A piston rod 78 has one end connected to the frame member 74 by means ofan adapter 82. The other end of the piston rod 78 extends into thecylinder 80 and terminates in a piston. Conduits are provided forintroducing a motive fluid to opposite ends of the cylinder 80 to causethe piston therein and its piston rod 78 to reciprocate in a directionparallel to the shaft 64.

The springs 72 are prevented from moving laterally by means of pins 84.Thus, each spring surrounds a pin 84. Each pin 84 has its upper endcoupled on the lower surface of plate 70. The lower end of each pin 84is loosely supported by one end of a lever 86. This loose supportpermits necessary movement between pin 84 and lever 86. Each lever 86 ispivotably supported intermediate its ends by a bracket 88 on the lowersurface of plate 16'. Thus, as shown more clearly in FIGS. 8 and 9, thelever 86 may pivot about the axis of pin 90. Lever 86 is maintained inits clamping position by means of gravity created by the weight of latch92.

The end of the lever 86 remote from the pin 84 is provided with alaterally extending latch 92. The latch 92 overlies the arm 36 andextends along a side face thereof so as to maintain the arm 36' in itsretracted position.

The brush unit illustrated in FIGS. 6-9 is utilized as follows:

When washing the front of a vehicle or the front fenders of a vehicle,the components will be in the posi tion illustrated. The brush bristles46' on the brush 62 will be retained in their retracted position by theengagement between arm 36 and the latches 92. When the entire brush unitapproaches the side doors of the vehicle, and it is desired to utilizeboth brushes 10 and 62, motive fluid is exhausted from cylinder toreciprocate the piston rod 78 downwardly by means of gravity.

Downward movement of the piston rod 78 causes the frame member 74 toreciprocate downwardly. Movement of the frame member 74 is guided by thebushing surrounding the shaft 64. As the member 74 moves downwardly,contact with brush 10 is made through clutch 66 causing brush 62 torotate in its retracted position. When washing the rear of stationwagons, motive fluid is introduced into cylinder 80 to reciprocate thepiston rod 78 downwardly further than previously causing the wheels 76acting through the plate 70 to compress the springs 72. At the sametime, force imparted to the pins 84 pivots the levers 86 in a clockwisedirection in FIG. 8 so as to raise the latches 92. As soon as thelatches 92 are raised, each of the arms 36 may pivot to their extendedpositions due to centrifugal force as described above.

When the arms 36' move to their retracted position under the influenceof springs corresponding to spring 48 described above, the arms 36' willengage the cam surface 94 on the latches 92 to raise the same wherebythe parts may assume the position shown in FIG. 9. Of course, if thepiston rod 78 is still in its lowermost position, such camming actingwill not occur. When the pressure on the piston in cylinder 80 isreleased, the springs 72 will raise the plate 70 and frame member 74,thereby moving the same away from plate 16'. In doing so, the pins 84are raised, thereby lowering the latches 92.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms withoutdeparting from the spirit or essential attributes thereof and,accordingly, reference should be made to the appended claims, ratherthan to the foregoing specification as indicating the scope of theinvention.

It is claimed:

1. A brush comprising a rotatable shaft, spaced support members on saidshaft, brush bristles supported at circumferentially spaced points onsaid members for movement between retracted and extended positions, saidbrush bristles being supported from said members by brush supports, saidbrush supports being mounted for pivotable movement about axes generallyparallel to the axis of said shaft to facilitate movement of the brushbristles between extended and retracted positions, and said brushbristles being responsive to centrifugal force so that they move fromtheir retracted positions to their extended positions as a result ofcentrifugal force.

2. A brush in accordance with claim 1 wherein said biasing meansincludes a spring biasing said brush sup ports to a position whereinthey are substantially chords of said support members, and said supportmembers being circular, said brush supports being pivotably supported bysaid members at locations which are closer to the outer periphery ofsaid support members as compared with the axis of rotation of saidsupport members.

3. A brush in accordance with claim 1 including limit stops on saidsupport members, each limit stop being engageable by a support for brushbristiles when the support extends radially outwardly with respect tosaid shaft.

4. A brush in accordance with claim 1 including a plurality of brushsupports circumferentially supported by said members, each of said brushsupports supporting some of said brush bristles, a collar surroundingsaid shaft, means for releasably coupling said collar to said shaft, andsaid biasing means including a spring, said spring having one endcoupled to said collar and its other end coupled to a brush supportwhereby the tension of the biasing force may be adjusted.

5. A brush in accordance With claim 4 wherein said collar is disposedabove one of said support members and is coupled to each of said brushsupports by separate springs.

6. A brush comprising a rotatable shaft, spaced support members on saidshaft, a collar surrounding said shaft and being adjustably coupled tosaid shaft adjacent one of said support members, brush supportsextending between and supported by said members at circumferentiallyspaced points on said members, each brush support being pivotablymounted on said members for movement between a retracted and extendedposition, spring means connected to said collar for biasing each supportmember to its retracted position, and each brush support having brushbristles extending radially outwardly therefrom with respect to the axisof said shaft when the shaft is rotating, whereby rotation of said shaftmay cause said brush suports and the respective brush bristles to assumea radial position with respect to said shaft due to centrifugal actionand thereby assume its extended position, and the axis of pivotablemovement of each brush support being closer to the periphery of saidsupport members than to the axis of said shaft.

7. A brush unit comprising a rotatable shaft, first and second sets ofspaced support members on said shaft, brush bristles supported atcircumferentially spaced points on said first and second sets of supportmembers for movement between retracted and extended positions, meanstending to bias said bristles to their retracted position, said brushbristles being responsive to centrifugal force so that they may overcomesaid bias and move from their retracted positions to their extendedpositions as the result of centrifugal force, and selectively operablelatch means associated with the first set of support members forselectively latching the brush bristles on said first set of supportmembers in their retracted positions Whereby only the brush bristles onsaid second set will respond to centrifugal force.

8. A brush unit in accordance with claim 7 wherein said last-mentionedmeans includes a motor device mounted adjacent said first set of suportmembers, and said motor device being connected to said latch means forselectively operating the latch means while the shaft is rotating sothat the brush bristles supported by said first set of support membersare free to respond to centrifugal force.

9. A brush unit in accordance with claim 8 wherein said latch meansincludes a lever pivotably supported intermediate its ends, a pinconnected to one end of the lever and extending through a support memberof the first set, a plate juxtaposed to said one support member, springmeans biasing said plate away from said one support member.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS

